Full throw hasp construction



y 1962 w. E. ATKINSON FULL THROW HASP CONSTRUCTION Filed March 24, 1959 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,035,861 FULL THROW HASP CONSTRUCTION Wallace E. Atkinson, Petersburg, Va., assignor to Long Manufacturing Company, Inc., Petersburg, Va., a corporation of Virginia Filed Mar. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 801,504 Claims. (Cl. 292-281) The present invention relates in general to luggage locks for suitcases and other receptacles where two adjacent separable parts of the receptacle are to be held together along their meeting edges, and more particularly to luggage locks having a pivoted hasp and a manually operable push mechanism for releasing the lock of the type which have become known in the trade as full-throw hasp locks wherein the angle of opening of the hasp approaches approximately 180.

Heretofore, in the luggage industry, those suitcase locks have been most popular and have been considered to be of higher quality which are of the type known as full-throw hasp locks. This refers to the angle of opening of the hasp of the suitcase lock. While the more common varieties of pivoted hasp-type luggage locks provided an opening angle of only about 30, the full-throw hasp locks provide a Wide opening are for the hasp reaching approximately 180 from the locked position. This is usually attained by the use of a hinging arrangement for the hasp incorporating a knuckle joint, a hinge pin and a coil spring. The hinge pin extends through the usual loop or bead provided at the upper end of the hasp which fits between the ears or knuckles of the hinge forming components of the hasp attaching plate. This hinge pin is usually in the form of a ferrule pin having two longitudinally spaced portions of different diameters. The full-throw of the hasp is obtained by winding the coil spring about the smaller diameter portion of the ferrule pin, one of the ends of the coil spring being anchored to or bearing upon the attaching plate and the other bearing against the pivoted hasp to continuously bias the pivoted hasp to fully open position.

These prior art full-throw hasp locks entail quite expensive assembly costs and slow operation of assembly, compared to the conventional type of pivoted hasp locks. The ferrule pin must be turned down to size by a machine to provide the two different diameter sections, the coil spring must be wound about the ferrule pin, and these pieces must be assembled with the other pieces of the hasp lock assembly to insure proper operation. An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel pivoted hasp luggage lock of the full-throw hasp type which is of simplified construction permitting the lock assembly to be economically manufactured with substantial savings in manufacturing and assembly costs.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel pivoted hasp luggage lock assembly of the fullthrow hasp type having a novel interaction of components and mode of operation to eifect resilient throw of the pivoted hasp from closed position to open position through an are at least greater than 90.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel pivoted hasp luggage lock of the full-throw type wherein the components coact to steady the motion of the hasp during opening movement thereof and retard bouncing of the hasp when it reaches fully open position.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detail description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a full-throw type of pivoted hasp assembly for luggage locks and the like embodying the'present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the pivoted hasp assembly and an associated lock plate mounted in position on associated luggage surfaces;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the pivoted hasp assembly illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal transverse section view taken through the hinge portion of the hasp assembly along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section view similar to FIGURE 4 of a modified form of hasp assembly embodyingthe present invention.

Referring to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the luggage lock unit of the present invention, indicated in general by the reference character 10, is formed of two principal subassemblies, hereafter designated as the pivoted hasp assembly '11 and the lock plate assembly 12. The pivoted hasp assembly 11 and plate assembly 12 are mounted on the surfaces of the separable parts of a receptacle. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, the hasp assembly 11 is mounted on the body or tray portion '13 of a hard side suitcase 14, and the lock plate assembly 12 is aflixed to the lid 15. These components are, of course, disposed adjacent the line of separation 16 between the base and lid sections of the suitcase. It will be appreciated that the assemblies 11 and .12 may be inverted relative to the relationship shown in FIGURES 2 and '4 to follow the more conventional practice of associating the hasp assembly with the lid and the lock plate assembly with the body or tray portion.

The pivoted hasp assembly 11 comprises an attaching plate 17 which is adapted to be secured against the exterior surface of a wall of the suitcase base 13, for example by rivets 18, and has a raised formation 19 in the upper center portion of the attaching plate 17, as viewed in FIGURE 2. Joining the raised formation 19 at the upper end of the attaching plate 17 are a pair of laterally spaced knuckle formations 20 flanking an opening 21 bounded at its lower end by a transverse edge 22 and at its upper end by short extensions or shoulders 23 projecting inwardly from the knuckle formations 20, which form a pivotal coupling for the hasp member 24. This pivotal coupling for the hasp member 24 may, of course, be

located at any position on the attaching plate 17 to suit the particular design and operation desired, and may as well be located at the lower edge of the attaching plate 17, as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 2. It will also be appreciated that the upper end of the opening 21 between the knuckle formations 20 may be bounded by an uninterrupted wall or bridge extending transversely entirely across the opening 21, forward of the short extensions or shoulders 23.

The hasp member 24, which is designed to be pivotally coupled to the attaching plate 17, may be formed generally in the manner disclosed in U.S. Patent 1,951,551, dated March 20, 1934, disclosing an elongated hasp body stamped from planiform stock and having a pair of rectangular lateral extensions 25 which are bent over beneath the free end of the hasp, and which have apertured extremities which are bent at right angles to the plane of the hasp and mated together to form a hasp staple 26. It will be understood however, that the shape or construction of the staple or other component on the hasp member which is latched by the bolt is unimportant to the invention and may be constructed in any desired manner. The other end of the hasp member 24 is bent to form a cylindn'cal loop or head 27 of width complementing the width of the opening 21 between the knuckle formations 20 of 3 the attaching plate 1 7. .A hinge pin 28, which may be cut from rod stock of appropriate diameter, is adapted to extend through the cylindrical bead 27 and project from each end thereof into the knuckle formations to form vthe pivot pin for coupling the hasp member 24 to the attaching plate 17.

The ends of the hinge pin 28 are resiliently retained against the front walls of the knuckle formations 20 by means of a leaf spring 29 which serves a plurality of functions in this assembly. The leaf spring 29 is a recurved leaf-spring member having a rear leg 30 and a front leg 31 joined by the curved bridging portion 32. The leaf spring is adapted to be assembled in the pivoted hasp assembly 11 by projecting the curved bridging portion 32 thereof through the opening 21 between the extensions 23 and the bead 27 of the hasp 24' and into the chamber formed behind the raised formation 19, and be retained in position when fully projected therein by' a curved retaining lip 33 at the free edge of the rear leg 30 which snaps over the extensions 23. The free edge of the front leg 31 of the leaf spring 29 is provided with an outwardly curved Working lip 34 having a normal cylindrical curvature which is preferably of slightly greater radius than the radius of the outer surface of the hasp bead 27.

When the hasp 24 is in closed or locking position as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the outer edge of the working lip-34 is in abutment with the inner surface of hasp member 24 and is forced to the left, as viewed in FIGURE 4, from the position to which it is normally elastically urged, causing the front leg 31 of the leaf spring 29 to be sprung slightly to the left of its normal position and out of contact with the bead 27 of the hasp 24. The'hasp 24 will be retained'in this closed position by projection of the usual reciprocative bolt 35 incorporated in the lock plate assembly 12 through the eye of the hasp staple 26 when'the latter extends into the keeper aperture 36. It will be understood that the bolt 35 is manually controlled by the usual push member 37 here illustrated as a button-shaped push member and is'resiliently biased to urge theworking end of the bolt into the keeper aperture 36. The bolt 35 may be' locked in interlocking relation with the hasp staple 26 by means of the usual locking mechanism including a key locking cylinder indicated at 38.

Upon withdrawal of the bolt 35 from the hasp staple 26 by actua-tion of the push member 37, the hasp member 24 will be projected away from the lock plate assembly 12 in the direction indicated by the arrows 39 in FIGURE 4 by the leaf spring 29. The outer edge of the working lip 34 on the front leg of the leaf spring 29 will remain in abutment with the rear surface of the pivoted hasp 24 onlyuntil the portion of the front leg of the leaf spring 29 immediatelyto the rear of the axis of the head 27 and hinge pin-28 abuts the surface of the bead 27 and the curved working lip- 34 assumes its normal condition of curvature through internal elastic forces. In one practical embodiment of the invention, the curved lip portion 34 abuts the adjacent surface of the head 27 and assumes its normal curvature when the hasp 24 has pivoted through an arc of'about 40 from the fully closed position illustrated in FIGURE 4. However, during this initial arc of opening movement of the pivoted hasp 24, the force of the working lip of the spring 29 on the hasp has produced sufiicient opening momentumto cause the hasp to, ineifect, coast through the remaining are indicated by the arrows 39'to the positionwhere the outer or front surface of' the hasp 24-abutsthe transverse edge 22 bound-' ing theopening 21 in'the attaching plate-17. This fully opened position of the pivoted hasp 24'is illustrated in broken'lines in FIGURE4; The leaf spring 29, therefore,

'in addition to serving to retain the pivotal assembly of 4 action of the curved surface of theworking lip 34 against the cylindrical surface of the hasp head 27 over the wide area of this curved leaf spring portion, the motion of the pivoted hasp 24 in its action is firm and steady, and this frictional interaction retards loose or bouncing movement of the hasp at the outer extreme of its throw and serves to frictionally hold the hasp at its full throw position.

FIGURE 6 indicates one way in which the leaf spring can be arranged in accordance with the present invention to effect full throw of the hasp member when the pivotal coupling of the hasp with the attaching plate is arranged at the opposite edge of the attaching plate from that shown in the embodiment of FIGURES 1, 2 and 4. In FIGURE 6, the elements are designated by reference characters which are the primes of the reference characers used for the corresponding elements in the first described embodiment. In this instance, however, the curved bridging portion 32 of the leaf spring 29 is turned about a bridging portion 40 of the top wall 41 of the attaching plate 17' with the front and rear legs 31' and 30' of the leaf spring 29 extending through slots 42 in the top wall 41. The hasp assembly 11' of this embodiment is shown in an inverted relation to that of the first-described embodiment, the attaching plate 17' being mounted in this embodiment on the lid 15' of the suitcase 14'.

It will be apparent that this construction, in addition to providing the novel mode of operation hereinabove described, effects a simplification in construction and assembly relative to the prior construction hereinbefore described, since a straight hinge pin out from conventional rod stock may be used instead of a turned ferrule, the fiat leaf spring cut and shaped from flat stock can be used in place of a coil spring, and the assembly operation may be completed more rapidly and efficiently in that the former complex procedure of winding a coil spring about the ferrule pin and assembling these elements to the other two pieces of the hasp assembly under tension so as to insure proper action is avoided.

While two specific embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and'are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A full throw hasp assembly for luggage locks and the like comprising a pair of relatively movable members including an attaching plate adapted to be fixed to a mounting surface of the luggage and a hasp member and hinge means joining said hasp member to said plate along a hinge axis, said hasp member having a closed position wherein said hasp member lies closely adjacent the mounting surface of the luggage in generally parallel relation to the mounting surface and an open position wherein said hasp member is shifted outwardly through an arc of greater than 90 in a direction to project away from the mounting surface of the luggage, a leaf spring for biasing said hasp member from said closed position toward said open position, said leaf spring being supported on'one of said relatively'movable members and having a lip portion projecting outwardly toward a conthe hasp member 24 and attaching plate 17 in assembled condition, also provides the resilient open bias for shifting the'pivoted hasp member24 to open position upon withdrawal of the bolt 35 frominterlocking relation with the hasp staple 26, Also, because of the frictional intertact surface of the other of said relatively movable members spaced from said hinge axis, said lip portion terminating in a free edge disposed to abut the contact surface over a minor portion of said arc, said lip portion being shaped to cause stressing of said leaf spring away from said hinge axis toward the mounting surface when the hasp member is' shifted to said closed position to store energy in said leaf spring, said lip portion curving outwardly about said hinge means to remain in abutment with said contact surface over an initial minor, portion of an opening arc of said other of said relatively movable members from closed position to impart sufiicient opening momentum to said hasp member to cause the same to coast to a fully open position wherein said contact surface is free of contact with said free edge of said lip portion.

2. A full throw hasp assembly for luggage locks and the like comprising an attaching plate adapted to be fixed to a mounting surface of the luggage, a hasp member hinged to said attaching plate, said hasp member having a closed position wherein said hasp member lies closely adjacent the mounting surface of the luggage in generally parallel relation to the mounting surface and an open position wherein the hasp member is shifted outwardly through an arc of at least about 135 in a direction projecting away from the mounting surface of the luggage, a leaf spring for biasing said member from said closed position toward said open position, said leaf spring being housed in said attaching plate and having a lip portion projecting toward a rear face portion of said hasp member spaced from the hinged connection thereof and extending beyond the position occupied by said rear face portion in closed position when said hasp member is in open position, said lip portion terminating in a free edge disposed to abut said rear face portion over a minor portion of said are adjacent the closed position of the hasp member to cause stressing of said leaf spring upon closing of the hasp member, said l-ip portion of said leaf spring curving outwardly about the hinged connection between said hasp member and said attaching plate to dispose the free edge of said lip portion in abutment with said rear face portion of the hasp member over an initial minor portion of an opening arc thereof from closed position to impart suflicient opening momentum to said hasp member to cause the same to coast to a fully open position wherein said rear face portion is free of contact with said free edge, said hasp member having a cylindrical surface portion adjacent the hinged connection with said attaching plate facing the curved portion of said leaf spring, and the curved portion of said leaf spring approximating the curvature of said cylindrical surface portion and bearing against the same during the major portion of the opening arc of the hasp member to resiliently steady the motion of the hasp member and retard bouncing thereof when the hasp member reaches fully open position.

3. A full throw hasp assembly for luggage locks and the like comprising an attaching plate adapted to be fixed to a mounting surface of the luggage having a pair of laterally spaced knuckles and an opening therebetween, a hasp member having a loop forming bead at one end thereof seated in said opening, a pivot pin extending through said bead and projecting into said knuckles to pivotally intercouple said hasp member and attaching plate for rotation from a closed position wherein the hasp member lies closely adjacent the mounting surface of the luggage in generally parallel relation to the mounting surface to an open position wherein the hasp member is shifted outwardly therefrom through an opening arc of at least about in a direction to project away from the luggage, and .a leaf spring disposed in said attaching plate for resiliently retaining said pivot pin in said knuckles, said leaf spring including a lip projecting toward a rear face portion of said hasp member spaced from the hinge connection thereof and extending beyond the position occupied by said rear face portion in closed position when said hasp member is in open position, said lip portion terminating in a free edge disposed to bear against the hasp member when the latter is closed and force said leaf spring to a stressed condition, said lip curving outwardly about said bead to remain in abutment with said hasp member surface over an initial minor portion of an opening arc thereof from closed position to impart suflicient opening momentum to said hasp member to cause the same to coast to a fully opened position wherein said hasp member surface is free of contact with said terminal portion.

4. The combination recited in claim 3, wherein said loop forming bead has a cylindrical surface facing the curved portion of said leaf spring, and the curved portion of said leaf spring approximates the curvature of said cylindrical surface and bears against the same during the major portion of the opening arc of said hasp member to resiliently steady the motion of the hasp member and retard bouncing thereof when the hasp member reaches fully open position.

5. The combination recited in claim 3, wherein said opening is bounded laterally by said knuckles and by a transverse edge defining a lower end of the opening and by two laterally spaced shoulder formations projecting toward each other from the knuckles and defining the upper end of the opening and wherein said leaf spring member is folded upon itself to provide a front leg and a rear leg interconnected by a bight, said bight being housed Within said attaching plate with said front leg extending rearwardly of the rear face portion of said hasp member and said rear leg having a trough formation which is snapped over said shoulder formations to retain said spring within said attaching plate, the lip portion of said leaf spring being disposed at the free end of the front leg thereof and conforming generally to a cylindrical segment having a radius similar to the radius of said bead.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 959,234 Larkin May 24, 1910 1,214,042 luergens Jan. 30, 1917 1,309,748 Schroeder July 15, 1919 1,654,440 Warren Dec. 27, 1927 2,021,561 Long Nov. 19, 1935 2,960,363 Cheney Nov. 15, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,663 Great Britain 1887 110,783 Australia June 10, 1940 

